mousakkin مسكن
Tunisian Derja · noun
“mousakkin” (مسكن) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning painkiller, pain reliever.
Meanings
- painkiller, pain reliever
- calming, sedative
Usage
Mousakkin refers to a medicine that relieves pain. The typical phrase is mousakkin lel waji3a, "a painkiller for the pain". The word belongs to a somewhat formal register, that of the pharmacy or the doctor. In everyday speech, people also say kachet, "tablet", or simply name the medicine. Figuratively, it can refer to a measure that calms a situation without resolving it. Don't confuse it with maskan, "housing", which is written the same way in Arabic.
Example
راسي يوجع فيّا، عندك مسكّن؟
rasi youja3 fiya, 3andek mousakkin?
“My head hurts, do you have a painkiller?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mousakkin” but also “msakkin”, “mosakin”, “msaken” and “mousakin”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.